The constant stream of new models, products and processes that are helping organizations extend the useful life of resources and materials while reducing, repurposing and ultimately eliminating waste in all its forms
As much as one third of the world’s food is being wasted. The United States alone wastes roughly 63 million tons, or $218 billion, of food annually. As awareness of this issue has grown over in recent years, a variety of initiatives have taken root.
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the Closed Loop Fund (CLF) today unveiled an historic statewide, public-private partnership targeting a $5 million investment in recycling infrastructure in Connecticut in 2018. This statewide program follows Closed Loop Fund’s successful investment in Waterbury, CT in 2017.
On foot, by bicycle, through water and combinations of the above, distance races such as marathons and ocean races are a global phenomenon. Running and cycling races have become a big business in recent years, due to the opportunity for sponsorship and the brand affinity that comes with it.
Social enterprise Circle Economy is calling on the global community to participate in creating a visionary circular future. In hopes of solving some of “humanity’s biggest challenges,” the organization has launched a new online crowdsourcing platform with support from the eBay Foundation. The Circle Lab platform is intended to capture ideas, encourage collaboration, and help ensure that ideas get off the ground and are implemented.
Nike is calling for innovation proposals to help advance its product sustainability. The Nike Circular Innovation Challenge consists of two distinct but connected calls that invite entrants to develop new technologies to advance footwear recycling or create new products using Nike Grind materials. The best proposals will win thousands in cash awards.
Earlier this year, tech giant Dell announced an innovative partnership with actress Nikki Reed’s jewellery company, Bayou with Love, which spawned a new line of fine jewellery made using recycled gold from the motherboards of end-of-life Dell computers. The juxtaposition of fine, intricate jewels with old computers has driven media interest and raised the issue and importance of sustainability within the tech sector. ‘The Circular Collection’ has been positioned as an example of circular economy success, but how deep does this move go?
Corporate action to tackle the mounting problem of ocean plastics is on the rise with new commitments and cross-industry initiatives cropping up regularly.
Discussion around the future of mobility is dominated by discourse around the shift away from fossil fuels, but this is only one small part of a more complex conversation. Even clean energy vehicles have impacts on environmental and human health. China’s industry ministry, General Motors and Goodyear are taking these often-overlooked impacts into account by focusing on waste recovery and prevention approaches that seek to establish closed-loop systems.
Despite the rise of recyclable packaging for beauty and personal care products, only half of US consumers responsibly dispose of these products. To boost bathroom recycling, beauty brand Garnier has teamed up with TerraCycle and DoSomething.org to launch the second year of Rinse, Recycle, Repeat, a national recycling campaign and college campus competition that aims to educate young people on how to responsibly recycle their beauty and personal care products.
Earlier this year, the NFL, PepsiCo, Aramark, U.S. Bank Stadium, SMG and the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority announced an ambitious plan to make Super Bowl LII a zero-waste event. The results are finally in and it’s official — the effort was a major win. Ninety-one percent of all trash generated on game day from 67,612 fans was responsibly recovered through composting, recycling and reuse. This marks the highest diversion rate achieved at U.S.
Across the globe, about 50 percent of CO2 emissions are tied to materials — goods that often produce a significant amount of physical and financial waste.
A shift in consumer awareness around sustainability is causing a surge in demand for plant-based proteins — an emerging market opportunity that global food companies won’t want to miss.
As increasing emphasis is being placed on circularity, the concept of planned obsolescence is being called into question. While it has long been criticized by consumers, brands and governments are finally beginning to recognize that the short-term strategy has no place in the low-carbon economy — and are taking action to promote transparency and resource efficiency.
In a new report, Forum for the Future calls on leaders to better understand the dynamic trends that are shaping the future in order to create strategies that effectively navigate today’s complex challenges and unlock new opportunities for sustainability.
In case there was still any doubt that fossil fuels are on the decline, new analysis from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) confirms it: Wind and solar energy jobs now outnumber coal and gas jobs in 30 states.
The closed-loop conversation is often one that focuses on e-waste, fashion and single-use plastics, but LEGO Group and Antwerp-based design furniture brand ecoBirdy are aiming to change that by bringing the concept of circularity and sustainability to the toy front. Supported by the EU’s program for the competitiveness of SMEs (COSME), ecoBirdy has launched its first collection of design furniture for kids made entirely from recycled plastic toys. The launch follows two years of research exploring how to sustainably recycle plastic toys.
Resource scarcity and the rise of the circular economy are inspiring businesses, industry associations and governments to develop new ways to recover precious and critical raw materials (CRMs) from waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE). The Urban Mine Platform, a database of valuable materials for “urban mining,” is the public and private sectors’ latest attempt to take on the challenge.
Globally, food loss and waste prevention efforts at farm and production level are, in many respects, still in their infancy. Many growers around the world are not required to record or report on their post-harvest crop losses — the dearth of data in this area makes it hard to determine exactly how much food never makes it beyond the farm gate.
Around 52 million tons of food are wasted each year in the United States despite 1 in 7 US citizens lacking reliable access to sufficient, affordable and nutritious food. While raising consumer awareness is an important food waste reduction strategy, interventions at the corporate level have a crucial role to play in addressing the issue on a large scale.
At the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting in Davos, WEF, the Forum of Young Global Leaders and Accenture revealed the winners of the 2018 Circulars. The awards recognize individuals and organizations that have made notable contributions to the circular economy. The fourth annual awards ceremony showcased advances from the private and public sectors that drive innovation and growth while reducing dependence on scarce natural resources.